Earlier this year, it looked as if the Virginia Legislature was headed down the same anti-worker road several Republican-controlled legislatures have recently traveled when legislation was introduced in the state House and Senate that would reduce labor representation on the 29-member Virginia Workforce Council to just one person.  

During the past few years, as Republicans have taken control of state legislatures and governors’ offices, the attacks on workers and their unions have gone from the extreme we saw in Wisconsin and Michigan to the more subtle, as we are seeing today in Virginia.

Legislation in the state House and Senate, that anti-worker lawmakers had hoped would fly under the radar, would reduce labor representation on the 29-member Virginia Workforce Council (VWC) to just one person.

Today marks the 75th Anniversary of the signing of the National Apprenticeship Act and at a ceremony marking the historic job training act, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis honored the Laborers’ (LIUNA)  apprenticeship programs with a 21st Century Trailblazer and Innovator award. Solis said the LIUNA program and other award winners were honored for their “long-standing success and innovative approaches” to training U.S. workers.

William Plotner waited for his daughter’s second birthday to enroll in the military on Sept. 11, 2004—three years after the World Trade Center twin towers fell. He wanted his daughter to remember the significance of her birth date. But most of all, he wanted her to think of him as a hero. Now Plotner, a U.S. Army veteran and member of the Laborers (LIUNA) Local 79, is rebuilding the World Trade Center.

Says Plotner:

On 9-11-04 I swore in. And now I get to work here. It brings, like, another sense of pride.

Thousands of quality construction and warehouse/operations jobs are coming to Oakland’s hardest-hit communities, thanks to a recent Oakland City Council decision to redevelop an army base that closed decades ago.

Josie Camacho, executive secretary-treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council, which helped lead a labor-community campaign for jobs, said:

The redevelopment of the Oakland Army Base is a surefire way to kick-start job creation in the construction sector, while also creating a wealth of new jobs to maintain operations on the base. And the vital labor standards that are guaranteed by last night’s vote will benefit all Oakland residents and communities.

Several speakers criticized the Republican approach to the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) during a Tuesday hearing by the Education and the Workforce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.One provision of the the Republican bill would limit the input and participation from labor unions, community colleges and youth organizations on state and local Workforce Investment Boards.

Last week, the Obama administration continued its push to boost U.S. manufacturing jobs when it proposed a $1 billion National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. The proposal would create as many as 15 state-of-the-art institutes nationwide devoted to research and worker training to make U.S. manufacturers more competitive.

The AFL-CIO Working for America Institute (WAI) has been awarded a three-year, $3.4 million grant from the Department of Labor (DOL) to develop apprenticeship programs in five communities to train people for skilled manufacturing jobs and careers.

The President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness issued a 52-page report today on what it calls “Five Commonsense Initiatives to Boost Jobs and Competitiveness.”

This is a cross-post from the Metropolitan Washington (D.C.) Council, AFL-CIO. The Metro Council’s Community Services Agency (CSA) Building Futures pre-apprenticeship training program has won a $900,000 grant as part of the Jobs for the Future consortium. Says CSA Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy: This is a big deal. We will get nearly $1 million over three years in partnership with the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region and Wider Opportunities for Women to keep our pre-apprenticeship training program going.